Diversity Training

Diversity Training

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In an organization, ideally, the top three goals to achieve are to create revenue, increase the competitive advantage, and increase productivity. Organizations who rely heavily on manpower need to achieve these goals primarily through their employees. One way in collaborating with employees to achieve organizational goals is to provide employees with the knowledge needed to collaborate with others on the job. Diversity training can help organizations achieve their goals by introducing their workforce to fresh ideas by having a diverse workforce that are in-sync with each other. Therefore, this paper will provide a description of diversity training in organizations; study the effects of providing diversity training; and provide suggestions for implementing workplace diversity via diversity training.

To understand the term ‘diversity,’ defining its meaning can give a better understanding as to why diversity training is necessary in organizations. Merriam-Webster (2013) states that diversity is the “inclusion of different types of people in a group or organization” (Merriam-webster.com). Within this meaning of ‘diversity,’ Powell (2011) states that there are two dimensions of diversity: primary and secondary dimensions (p. 5). Primary dimensions of diversity are the unchangeable characteristics that an individual possess such as one’s age, sex, race, and physical qualities. The secondary dimensions of diversity are changeable characteristics an individual possess such as “religion, income, marital status, and work experience” (Powell, 2011, p. 5). Bringing in a diverse workforce under one roof of an organization can visibly show that diversity exists, however, integrating others under one roof does not deem to promote harmony. The mixture of primary and secondary dimensions of diversity within a workforce can create issues amongst co-workers. These issues can range from having ethnocentric individuals in the workforce who are biased; or even...